Review: Kindle Paperwhite

Let me start this review by declaring my love for e-readers. A few years ago you would have never heard those words escape from my mouth, but after being put in a situation where my access to books would be limited a Kindle saved the day and became my handheld library that granted me access to a ton of free, low cost and mainstream novels. It’s funny how moving to a 5 square mile island changes your perspective on things.

Unlike traditional books, e-readers have the uncanny ability of being ruined should you drop them in water or they accidentally get crushed during a move, which is what happened to my first precious Kindle. Knowing there was a hole in my heart in need of filling my husband went ahead and surprised me with a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas.

I was hesitant to get this one because it is touch screen. I wasn’t sure how easy typing notes, highlighting, and making purchases would be when compared to the full keyboard my previous Kindle boasted. Overall I was pleasantly surprised.

What I love:

• Size | The Kindle Paperwhite is small enough for me to hold in one hand. Weighing in at a mere 7.5 ounces I have no problem reading books for hours, without my wrist crying out for rest. The six inch screen is similar to the size of a paperback and fits just the right amount of words in the space without over or under crowding the area. I also love the fact that this little device is as thin as a pencil.
• Screen | Obviously I wouldn’t buy this if it wasn’t like reading a real book, but I wanted to quickly point out that the screen is noticeably more sharp than the Kindle Keyboard edition.
• Back light| This is a huge pro for me, as I do a lot of my reading before I go to bed. While I sound incredibly lazy I love being able to read in the dark and not have to worry about sneaking out of my warm covers, disturbing my husband and turning out the light. I also love that the light is adjustable, allowing you to use a weaker light in the dark and brighter light during the day.
• Adjustable fonts, sizes, spacing, and margins | I don’t use this, but for anyone who has the need the ability to change font sizes, spacing between sentences and margins would prove beneficial in finding just the right adjustments to ease the strain on their eyes. Because of how simple the user interface is you need only tap the screen a couple of times and select what you want. There’s no need to dig into a multi-layered settings menu to get the results you want.
• Easy highlighting | Highlighting with the tip of your finger is much easier than using a button and cursor, as you had to do with the earlier Kindle version.
• Simple Dictionary | The dictionary is super easy to use. I simply tap a word and let go of the screen. BOOM! Up pops the definition of the word I selected.
• Long battery life | I easily read for 15 hours (wi-fi off) without having to charge my Paperwhite.

Improvements needed:

• Touchscreen | I love, love, love the touchscreen on the Kindle Paperwhite, however, the response time is considerably slow. There is a noticeable lag between hitting a key and actually seeing the result of the command. For example, I could type my name in two seconds, but have to wait a full 3-4 before it actually appears. This also makes scrolling difficult when looking for books on Amazon.
• Storage | The Kindle Keyboard came with 4GB of storage on the device, while the Paperwhite only comes with 2GB. While it’s true that I may not ever use the full 4GB of storage, I don’t like the idea of paying around the same amount of money for less storage.
• Browser | The current browser is experimental. Considering the device is not intended for web surfing this web browser is great for basic things like checking your e-mail. I’d like to see Amazon build on it and make it all that it can be.
• Book suggestions | My husband bought me the ad free Paperwhite. Unfortunately Amazon still generates a list of “suggested books” that it displays at the bottom of my home screen. I’d prefer to not see that and have suggested books appear only when I’m logged into my Amazon.com account.

So there you have it. All the reasons why I love my Kindle Paperwhite. Truthfully, the cons I listed aren’t deal breakers for me, they’re more areas I hope future generations of the Kindle will improve upon.

Do you have an e-reader? Have any questions about the kindle? Ask me below!